Smart Business Magazine, May 2019

60 Smart Business Cleveland May 2019 DEALMAKERS MASTER DEALMAKER It became a negotiating point he says They were either going to get a purchase price adjustment or escrow was going to be held for these protections in the event that the insurance went through the roof as a result It was a multi pronged response to how we wanted to handle it They could have bought insurance but it might have doubled in cost in two years because once a new carrier would come in theyd say Its time to look at this building and the sprinklers may be out of date Schwab will occasionally field calls from clients who are negotiating a deal and tell him I dont think this is going to be a big deal We should breeze right through it Thats typically when the red lights begin flashing for Schwab and he sharpens his focus on potential pitfalls Those are the ones that turn around and bite you Schwab says MAKE THE EFFORT There is almost always a solution to your problem even in the complex world of benefit plans policies and procedures Its just identifying it and treating it Schwab says If somebody doesnt have proper coverage in place when they buy the business we can add coverage that might be able to cover the historical exposures Weve gone back in time to provide adequate coverage to a buyer where maybe the seller didnt purchase or account for the risk There may be different risk appetites between a buyer and a seller These speed bumps on the path to a deal can certainly be inconvenient But they pay off in the long term The takeaway is we can usually find an alternative solution whether it be employee benefits insurance or representations and warranties insurance or something like that to allow a transaction to move forward Schwab says But you have to do your homework Its something you want to make sure you have good visibility into and an effective forward projection that is credible and well thought out CREATE VALUE Schwabs goal is to help buyers not only understand the pitfalls of the programs they are inheriting but also when possible create a value proposition for its new benefits program How does insurance help you get a new contract How does it help you grow the business on what would normally be a sunk expense for insurance risk management and employee benefits Schwab says We want the program to be a value to be attractive to the right kind of employee We want you to be able to go sign new contracts for new projects because you have the right coverage in place Were trying to help people get better insight into their risk management and employee benefit programs W hen Charu Ramanathan saw an opportunity to revolutionize the worlds cardiac care she didnt wait for someone else to make it happen The key thing I grew up with particularly from my parents was the importance of being original and trying to find your own solutions says Ramanathan who cofounded CardioInsight with fellow Case Western Reserve University doctoral student Ping Jia in 2005 Stop whining about problems If there is a problem you need to figure out how to solve it on your own and in your own way Through support from JumpStart Ramanathan and Jia raised more than 35 million before launching their first product In June 2015 Medtronic acquired the electrocardiographic mapping technology company in a deal worth more than 90 million Ramanathan is now co founder and CEO at vitalxchange which aims to boost health literacy Dealmakers spoke with her about the value of following your instincts and the real skills entrepreneurs need to succeed HOW HAVE YOU EVOLVED AS AN ENTREPRENEUR I come from a culture that respects age and experience a lot In my younger days especially through my transition from an academic setting into the business world I deferred a lot more to experience than trusting myself At the end of the day this was my vision I had put everything at risk I needed to have more confidence more conviction more courage that my vision and my passion was what was driving this business forward It took me a while to gain that self confidence Ive become a very introspective person If you cant figure something out its OK to reach out and surround yourself with people SURVIVAL SKILLS TRUMP MBA THINKING CHARU

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